Advanced construction jobsite software such as BIM 360 FIELD allow users to review construction plans on site, such as on a mobile device, and raise issues and manage checklists that are visually linked to the construction plans. Instead of carrying around pads of paper, a construction jobsite system allows users to streamline job site inspections, job site workflow, and reporting of field performance.
However, these construction jobsite systems have several technology-specific problems. Most notably, they are self-contained systems that do not integrate with tools that companies traditionally use to track construction and related business information. For example, a company may have its own outside system, such as a file repository for keeping records for many construction projects and related business information. But the construction jobsite system technology prevents easy movement of information to the outside file repository.
Many construction jobsite systems are also limited in terms of reporting functionality. While they may provide basic reporting information, each company or user may desire to analyze or report data in a manner that is difficult or impossible based on the functionality the construction jobsite system provides. Therefore, a company may use external tools such as MICROSOFT EXCEL or other software for tracking projects, reporting, and creating projections. Users may also want flexibility in selecting which external tools they use, to best adapt to business and reporting requirements of particular projects.
Additionally, the construction jobsite systems have their own data repositories that are not accessible by outside software, creating a problem in access and synchronization between the construction jobsite systems and external databases. Even for construction jobsite systems that allow access to data, querying the data may require complex URL calls and script parsing, which adds complications, is outside the realm of what most employees understand, and may make it impossible to work with some external tools. Thus, external tools cannot be flexibly used with the construction jobsite systems.
Therefore, based on at least these technology-specific problems, a need exists for systems and methods for flexibly integrating construction jobsite systems with the external tools (e.g., an endpoint).